Frank Cooper and Son Ltd established in 1976, offer grounds maintenance, land-

scaping, construction of play areas, play equipment, safety matting, sport surfac-

ing, sport markings, fencing, tree surgery and related civil engineering works.

As customer service is a priority and at the forefront of the company’s daily

activities they decided to seek certification to the internationally recognised

quality standard BS EN ISO 9001:2008.

Realising that the company needed external assistance, it evaluated several

potential partners to initiate and implement the system, finally choosing

Blackmores as their preferred associate.

A connected approach for success…

The purpose was to meet with the procedural criteria of the company’s main cli-

ents and to improve its operational activities. Frank Cooper and Son Ltd decided

to implement a quality management system – ensuring that it reflected the

reality of its needs and processes.

The initial stage was for Blackmores to hold a detailed gap analysis against the re-

quirements of ISO 9001 which took into account Frank Cooper’s current systems

and potential areas of improvement.

The Quality Management System was jointly developed between interactions with

Frank Cooper and Blackmores personnel in such a way to ensure that it met with

the company’s requirements and operating methods. At all stages the client was

consulted and feedback actively sought.

Once the system was emplaced a series of internal audits were conducted to

prove the system’s robustness and soundness. The company’s personnel were

heavily involved and many points of improvement were made. A management

review meeting was held prior to the certifying body conducting the assessment

process, to ensure the system was embedded within the company.

This process was validated when audits were carried out by the certifying body

with no non conformities raised at either Stage 1 or Stage 2 assessments. This was

a tremendous result and the company was duly recommended for certification.

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rank Cooper and Son - ISO 9001 F

Blackmores

ISO 9001 Case Study

If you are interested in implementing a Quality Management System, or would like further information

please contact Blackmores on +44 (0)1462 450591 or e-mail enquiries@blackmoresuk.com

Further information can also be found on www.blackmoresuk.com

The company’s qualified staff had ensured that the process went smoothly,

although a significant amount of work was required from all involved. The

company was clearly able to demonstrate how it monitored many key elements

of its operations; which they had not been able to manage successfully previous-

ly.

Tangible benefits…

The benefits to the company are very tangible, these include:-

Helping retain customer loyalty by making improvements to the

company’s tendering procedure processes.

Purchasing procedures better defined.

Reduced paperwork with regard to Trade Association Memberships.

Improved maintenance workshop operating procedures.

Improvements made to the way the company monitors operational

elements of its onsite processes.

Helen Cooper – Director/Quality Manager explains;

“As our business is reliant on good manpower from manager level to operative,

reliable machinery and weather conditions, it is of utmost importance that our

quality system reflects these factors.

Our process improvements are positively changing peoples’ minds in what can

be achieved when using a quality management system. In addition to internal

systems improvements, it has helped us retain customer loyalty and support our

aims to identify potential new market areas.

Blackmores have shown us that ISO 9001 really is an interactive standard for

continual improvement.”

Blackmores